Psalm of the New Gospel
by MagnumPI459
Summary: An EvangelionEureka 7 crossover, this story puts the 3 pilots as well as one other in the world of Eureka 7.
1. Chapter 1

Psalm of the New Gospel

A/N: So this an Evangelion/Eureka 7 crossover. The idea/desire for writing this came after recently seeing the final episode of Eureka 7. So this is what I came up with. Just a warning, there isn't a lot of Eureka 7 stuff in this first chapter, it's mainly just to set up how Shinji and the gang end up in the Eureka 7 world.

And finally, a thanks to Eric Blair in helping me out with this.

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My name is Shinji Ikari and I'm an Evangelion pilot.

They told us that there were 18 Angels in total.

Well originally they told us there were 16, but Misato just filled me in on the two missing ones: the one crucified on a giant cross, deep within the bowels of NERV headquarters and us.

Humanity.

Apparently, We are the last Angel.

Apparently they were wrong.

It's been a few months following the "infiltration" of the last Angel, Kaworu…

No…please don't ask; I still don't like to talk about it.

NERV has received many new Evangelions and pilots to go along with them. The Eva Series all look the same, creepy in my opinion; great white demons with red lips and no eyes. We were supposed to of received the last one in a week, but circumstances changed. No one knows why we needed the Evangelions any more, not even Misato or Vice Commander Akagi. Maybe Commander Keele did but he's kept everything that goes on in this base under wraps and now he's gone. You might ask "I thought Gendo Ikari was the Commander of NERV, what happened?" My Father was found murdered, along with the former Vice Commander shortly after the last Angel. To be honest I felt more grief over Fuyutsuki's death than Father's. Misato said it was under suspicious circumstances, but then again I figured it would.

Rei Ayanami.

She isn't human, but at the same time she is. I feel so confused about her. I felt her getting closer to me for some time, the two of us sharing a growing bond as time went on. That bond was broken however, when she "survived" the self destruction of Unit 00. At the time it seemed as though she had forgotten the experiences we shared together.

I found out soon after, that it wasn't that she forgot; she never experienced them.

She's kept her distance from me, but then again I haven't made an effort with her either. She is part Angel, but she is still the girl who saved me from the 5th Angel's attack, she was the one who helped me in catching the 10th Angel, and she was the one who sacrificed herself to save me from the 16th Angel. She is my fellow pilot and I do all I can to protect her.

Asuka.

She woke up a few weeks after the 17th Angel. I happened to be visiting her in her room when she did, let's just say she wasn't thrilled with the fact. I was actually relieved to be called a pervert and hit; Dr Akagi had said she might never wake up again.

With no more Angels (at least that's what they told us) and no more sync tests for the original 3 pilots, she had to make the transition from full time Eva pilot to part time consultant and full time student. Letting go of Eva must have been hard for her, it was even for me, but I know now how important being a pilot was to her. Maybe it's a testament to her determination and force of will, but I think the only reason why she changed so quickly was because she thought normalizing was a competition and I had a "head start." I know for sure, like it still does for me, Eva and her past haunts her.

But when Asuka decides to do something, she does it with a passionate zeal. She not only changed her attitude towards Eva, but she's become less… oh what's the right word… abrasive towards people. Not only has she been nicer to me, she even started talking to Rei again (I know they hadn't been on the best terms). It was a breath of fresh air, not only was she awake, but she was actually being nice to me. We actually felt normal for once. But that of course changed a month ago. Now she fights alongside me again, this time fighting what seems a hopeless battle. I know she won't like it, but I'll help her anyway I can.

Misato.

She was the one who told me I'd have to pilot again. She was the one who first told me about it, the new last enemy. She said an unknown object collided with a Russian Soyuz Rocket in orbit and continued into the Atlantic. It wasn't considered a hostile action at first; both the Russian and American Space Agencies chalked the incident up to the growing number of space debris. But a week after a huge mass was spotted in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. All attempts to observe and study it were met with the sent teams never returning. Days later, when not only it seemed hostile but also growing at an astronomical rate, efforts were made by the UN military to destroy it.

According to Misato, all conventional measures including the N2 mines not only failed but seemed to quicken its pace of growth.

That was a month ago.

Now she is in danger and I've got to do something.

Humanity panicked when it became clear we were no longer the dominant species on the planet. Some of the Eva Series were sent to fight the 19th Angel. They were all defeated. Easily. Too Easily. Keele had been observing the battle when they lost contact with his transport. Misato has been the defacto leader of the forces of NERV ever since. The UN has since abandoned the Eva project, in favor of evacuating as many people off the planet as possible.

They accelerated building the planned space elevator, completing the massive undertaking in only a month. Misato has decided to make a last stand in the Geo Front. Using the rest of the Eva Series and the three original Evas with their pilots she plans to hit this enemy with everything we've got. We have to; the Angel has cut off an escape route to the elevator, in the central steppes of Asia, the farthest point away from the oceans. It has expanded over most of Western Europe and the East Coast of the United States. It seems to grow faster in the oceans and all four of them have been occupied by this "devil coral" as it has been nicknamed.

Japan is surrounded and is beginning to be overrun.

The last Angel is approaching Tokyo-3, commencing its invasion of the Geo Front.

To be honest I never was confident in Misato's plan. It seemed we were all doomed. The new pilots don't have the experience required. It was now when Asuka, Ayanami and I decided we should try to escape while we still could.

The Geo Front itself was being compromised. We might of actually would have made it if I not for my idea…

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"You want to do what!!!"

"Listen Asuka, she's been like a mother to us since we got here, I just think we owe it to her to not just abandon her." Shinji was finding it disturbing Asuka was willing to leave Misato behind; one of the only people in this world to care about her.

"This was her suicide mission Shinji, she's the captain of the ship, she can go down with it." Asuka said hardly convincing herself, let alone Shinji.

Rei's image popped up on Shinji and Asuka's' HUD, "Pilot Soryu, I believe it would be advantageous to our escape if we obtained the Major's experience and guidance, do you not agree?"

"Listen you, its not that I don't want her help. And you Shinji, its not that I don't care about her, I really do; it's just that we won't make it out of here if we try. That's the whole reason why we're not following orders in the first place; to get out of here alive"

Shinji paused for a second contemplating her logic. It was true, the Angel had just defeated the last of the Eva Series in the city, and it was beginning to emerge from the ceiling of the Geo Front. But at the same time he felt they couldn't just desert Misato. In any other circumstance, Shinji wouldn't have said anything else, but the life of his guardian was on the line.

"I don't care if won't help us Asuka, you can escape. Rei and I are going whether you come or not." Then Shinji smiled, thinking of something clever to say, "I just figured you of all people wouldn't let impossible odds stop you from trying something. We're leaving, let's move out Rei."

As Shinji and Rei turned their Eva's towards the nearest elevator Asuka's mind was racing. Should she escape while she could? She had never liked the idea of leaving Misato, and retreat was bad enough, but deserting your comrades while doing so was unbearable. But at the same time the Angel was moving faster than ever and it wouldn't be long before getting out of the Geo Front would become impossible. But Shinji was right (something she decided she'd never admit out loud), she never had let impossible odds stop her before.

Honor wouldn't allow her to leave Shinji, Misato, and even Rei behind just to save her own skin.

"Arghh! Wait up dumkoph, I'm coming too."

Shinji smiled, he never wanted Asuka to go off on her own, and he was glad she was going to help rescue Misato.

"Idiot why are you smiling like that we have a job to do."

Shinji snapped out of his daze and replied, "Oh, uh no reason. Come on lets go." The three Evas made their way down the shaft manually. The power plant of Tokyo-3 had been abandoned when the city evacuated and NERV's couldn't handle every thing including this elevator. As the Eva's communicators came into range of Misato's the three pilots heard the voice of the Major come in weakly.

"What the hell is going on, why aren't you three fighting? The sensors showed you never making it to the surface of the city. And how are the others doing, that unknown energy pattern emanating from the Angel is blocking any useful reading out."

Asuka took point and answered, "The rest of those amateurs got themselves killed and even though it would mean not having to hear anymore of your **brilliant** plans, and don't even get me started on this one Misato, I don't fancy on sharing there fate."

There was a long pause on Misato's end, a deep breath was heard and then she spoke again, "I understand. I'm glad you three are all right, but what are doing?"

"We decided to escape, using one of the tunnels that lead outside the city, and it was Shinji's brilliant plan to bring you with us, whether it meant us escaping alive or not."

"What?! No, you need to get out of here if that's the case, don't worry about me."

Shinji answered this time, "We can't just leave you Misato, the Angel is almost here, and if you stay…" Shinji let his statement trailing off, not wanting to put into words what he was thinking. And besides we just arrived in Cage 7, you just need to get here…"

Misato replied quickly, "No, you need to get out of here now! The short range sensors have just gone dark, which means the Angel is in close proximity…"

At that point the radio was overtaken with static, Misato's voice drowned out. Shinji gasped, "We've got to hurry Asuka, Rei; we need to get to her."

Asuka's face darkened, "Shinji, I don't think she made it."

"NO! I'm going to get out of the plug and look for her."

"Shinji…" was all Asuka could manage to say, but Rei cut in abruptly and more forcefully than normal.

"Ikari! That would not be advisable, you risk losing yourself as well as a abandoning a fully combat capable Eva. I agree with Soryu, the Major most likely "did not make it." You must accept that so we may escape."

Shinji stared at Rei's image, wondering how she could be so cold, then shuddered when remembering her origins. He sighed and said, "Alright fine. Let's get out of …" Gunshots rang through the cage as a minute figure ran through the entrance to Cage 7. Shinji's screen zoomed in and showed Misato running with her gun pointed behind her. Just as she threw it away (most likely out of ammo), Shinji shouted, "Misato! Quick I'm going to eject the entry plug, get in."

Rei interjected, "No Ikari, have the Major get onto your Eva's hands."

"But why?"

Shinji's answer came from the wall on which the door Misato sprinted out was. It was at that point that the Angel decided to make its entrance. Shinji still had trouble describing it: a large coral-like biomass. He found it hard to believe that this wall of flesh was the same creature as the one that first attacked the Eva series in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Misato get into my hands!" Shinji shouted over his Eva's intercom. The Angel wasn't the fastest thing on the planet, but it was moving along fast enough to catch Misato eventually. Misato wasn't going to let that happen though, she climbed onto the railing and jumped, soaring into Unit 01's hands.

"Gotcha, come on lets go!" Shinji maneuvered his Eva so to head back towards the elevator, but noticed only Asuka joining him.

"Rei, what's wrong, why aren't you coming?"

"I can't Ikari, in order for the Major to be properly rescued; she will need to enter one of the entry plugs."

Shinji didn't understand what this had to do with Rei not coming, "So what, we can do that later we need to move."

"Ikari, you must gain some distance between yourselves and the Angel. I will attempt to hold it off so that you may achieve this."

"Wait a minute, Rei you can't do that by yourself."

Asuka who had been quiet for a minute deliberating this very problem realized what Rei was going to do. Asuka knew it would have to be done if Misato was to be safely extracted. Now Shinji was shortening the amount of time Rei was buying them.

"Come on Shinji we need to move now!"

"No Asuka, we can't just leave Rei here to die."

Asuka knew what she was about to say was a lie, but it had to be done for all their sakes, "Shinji, Rei should be able to hold it off without actually engaging it."

Rei interjected, "Actually Pilot Soryu…"

"Isn't that right Rei!" Asuka said forcibly but subtlety at the same time.

"Yes, that is correct Soryu; Ikari, I will catch up with you in minute."

Shinji took what was said at face value and smiled, "Okay, just be careful"

"I will Shinji, now hurry."

Shinji was already turned around and heading back to the elevator before he realized Rei had addressed him as Shinji for the first time just now. That fact disturbed him a little bit, what did it mean?

"Alright Shinji, I think is as good a place as any to get Misato into an entry plug."

They had arrived at the base of the elevator and Asuka had maneuvered her Eva to kneel down on one knee.

"Asuka? I thought Misato would get in with me."

"You've got her in your hands. It will be easier to set her down on my Eva rather than on top of yours.

When thinking about it, Shinji realized Asuka was making sense. He placed his palm next to Unit 02's shoulder. He watched Misato hop the few feet separating his Eva and Asuka's. She turned around and waved smiling. The happy moment was punctuated by the sound of a large explosion coming from the corridor Rei was defending.

"Rei!" Shinji screamed, "REI!"

"Shinji don't! She understood what she was doing, don't go after her." Asuka said desperately, for Shinji had started his Eva backwards towards Unit 00's last position. Shinji ignored Asuka's cries, who was immobile due to Misato's precarious position on Unit 02's shoulder.

Shinji made his way back to where they had picked up Misato. When he rounded the final corner he gasped in horror. Unit 00 was lying on the ground, with only its lower half visible. The other half was imbedded within the wall of flesh known as the last Angel.

"Rei! NOOO!" Shinji wailed as he pulled out his progressive knife and charged the Angel. Two bolts of green light shot out of the Angel and struck Shinji, halting his momentum. Seething from the pain he felt in his shoulders, he looked to both his sides seeing two strange elongated objects embedded in his Eva, similar to glass.

"Arrrgh!" Shinji pulled them out in sheer anger, and again charged the Angel, but this time far more then two bolts were sent toward Shinji, and he was immobilized on the ground from the resulting injuries. As warning alarms blared in his ears, Shinji watched in horror as the Angel moved onwards, as if it were growing, continuing to engulf Unit 00. "Rei? Are you there Rei? Say something please. NOOOOO!" The Angel finished with Unit 00 and continued moving no getting ever closer to where Shinji was laying. In a sudden realization, terror gripped his heart as he realized he would not be spared. He felt his body go numb as his Eva became surrounded. First his feet, then his legs, then his torso and arms, then finally his neck. But the odd thing was when it reached the top of his head, signaling his Eva had been completely swallowed up, the cold went away and blackness overtook his vision.

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Deep within the mostly evacuated NERV headquarters, there stood a figure holding a jar with a grotesque content. The woman stood there, not moving for several minutes before finally opening the jar.

"Keele, Gendo; no longer am I your puppet. I make my own choice now and decide not to doom this planet."

Dr. Ritsuko Akagi then dumped the severed hand of Gendo Ikari, the same hand that still had the embryonic form of Adam on it, into an incinerator.

"So ends the threat of Third Impact."

Ritsuko walked over to a panel of monitors showing Unit 01 being absorbed by the Angel, then Unit 02 rounding the corner and being immobilized just as Units 00 and 01 had. Ritsuko smiled weakly reaching into her pocket.

"Well Misato, I gave your plan a chance now its my turn." She pulled out a handheld console, but was immediately greeted by error messages. "The Magi have been compromised, I guess that leaves me with one thing left to do." She let the console drop to the floor, shattering it in the process, as she reached into her lab coat again, her fingers were greeted by a cold steel barrel. "Mother, I'll see you soon…"

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Shinji could see something, or someone for that matter; it was himself floating in nothingness. Shinji couldn't tell how much time had past, it was impossible. Ever so often a figure would appear in the darkness, only clear enough to see the form of a person. And when the form would appear, Shinji would hear a voice.

"Hello… What are you… Why are you… What do you know… Please talk to us, we want to know of you."

Whenever Shinji heard this, the form could never get closer, for when it tried, a bright shining image of a woman appeared and stopped whatever was trying to talk to Shinji. The last time Shinji saw the form stopped, the ethereal woman, instead of fading away, turned around. She floated towards him, and raised her brilliant hand to Shinji's face. Shinji closed his eyes as he felt a warm, soothing sensation. He heard the ghostly woman say, "It's safe to wake up." When he opened his eyes, instead of the great black void, he was greeted by the view of his cockpit.

Shinji sat up, not knowing why he felt so stiff. He looked at the clock on the wall of the entry plug. It was 9:05 AM; it had been 1:00 in the afternoon when the Angel had attacked. Had he been out for 14 hours? He powered up his Eva, and was immediately overwhelmed with the sensation of being buried alive. The monitors showed nothing but dirt. He tried moving but was unable to.

KaBOOM!

Shinji heard a tremendous blast and after feeling the vibrations of a shockwave he suddenly didn't feel so much pressure and weight upon his body. He tried moving again and was able to. His torso emerged from a pile of dirt and rocks and what Shinji saw shocked him.

He was in an enormous cavern, but the most astonishing thing was that he was surrounded by a dozen or so machines. They looked like Evangelions in the sense that they were humanoid, but were smaller and with less prominent necks and heads, almost hunchback in appearance. Just by chance Shinji glanced at his clock again and saw the smaller printed date below the time. His stomach twisted in a knot when he read what year it was supposed to be: 12145 AD.

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A/N: Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you think, and constructive criticism is welcome too.


	2. Chapter 2

Psalm of the New Gospel

Chapter 2

A/N: So in my other story Symphonie Fantastique, I said I would be updating that story frequently. Well funny how fate changes even the best laid plans. My computer's hard drive crashed; not only losing all progress on the chapter I was about three quarters done with, but leaving me without a computer up until only a few days ago. In the meanwhile, I had found a memory stick I had lost a while back that I had saved this chapter on. So I thought I would post this chapter to show I wasn't going to be absent for 3 more months

So enjoy this chapter, thanks to Eric Blair for editing and proofreading this a while back. And I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Eureka Seven.

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My name is Rei Ayanami.

I do not know my purpose now. Originally it had been to follow the orders of Commander Ikari. But the death of the Commander ended the plot to reunify myself with Lilith and Adam, bringing about Third Impact. I was created solely for that purpose and now that purpose was taken away. The only person to show me kindness, Ikari was avoiding me, because of my origins. Although I think the second version of me already did so, I cried for the first time. I did not know what to do.

But a new Angel emerged from the oceans, and I was ordered by Major Katsuragi to pilot once again. I had a purpose again and Ikari also piloting began to make contact with me again. In the end, the Major's final plan had a low chance of success. After reconnecting with Ikari, and even making amends with Soryu; I did not want to die, so along with Ikari and Soryu, I decided to escape. Ikari wanted to bring along the Major, for sentimental reasons. Even though attempting to do so would lessen our chances of survival, I followed him. I do not know why I did so, but I felt a desire to stay with Ikari. In order to safely rescue the Major, one of us had to stave off the last angel long enough for her to enter an entry plug. When I voiced that I would complete the task, Ikari openly showed concern for my safety. I have never had someone show me concern before and it produced an unfamiliar feeling; it felt as though a fire was inside of me, warming and motivating me at the same time. The strangest thing was the urge to stay and cover for Ikari only grew stronger.

After I had convinced Pilot Ikari to leave without me, the Angel continued its advance. I attempted to stop it, but was dispatched. I lost consciousness as the Angel enveloped Unit 00. I do not know how, but approximately 10,000 years passed without myself aging along as being transported to another world. I speculate that the Eva as well as the Angel had something to do with it. The next thing I remember after being defeated by the Angel, is the entry plug of Eva Unit 00 being opened, by people I had never seen before. They seemed surprised that there was someone inside the entry plug.

At first they communicated with me as if I were not human. Although I am not completely human, there would be no reason for them to suspect such a fact. They seemed very surprised when I tried to answer their questions in their same language. When I tried to explain what had happened, it appeared as though not one of my interviewers had any knowledge of the Angels, Evangelions, or NERV. They claimed that the planet we were now on was not even Earth. It was at this point I decided to feign complete ignorance and proceed to "go along" with my discoverer's plans, biding my time.

They claimed to be working for their country's military and wanted to use the Evangelion for their own devices. They made modifications to it, installing a more efficient battery system as well as a means of flying using what they call a "ref board." When they were ready to test the modifications, I tried to explain to them that no one but myself could pilot it, but they went ahead and attempted to do so without me. After several of their test pilots were "rejected" by Unit 00, they asked me to join their military and pilot Unit 00 again. At the time, I did not know what had become of Ikari, Soryu, or the Major; nor did I have any purpose once again, so I accepted. Over the course of several months I was trained in a facility not far from the site Unit 00 was discovered in. Then one day, as I was out on an exercise I heard his voice once again.

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It was an ordinary day for the company of diggers employed by the military. They had been assigned to excavate an enormous cavern, formed thousands of years ago. At first the company had thought their employers crazy for choosing such a barren site. There had been no LFOs excavated for miles in all directions. But one day, a blue humanoid LFO was discovered, unlike any before, with the exception of maybe the Nirvash Type Zero. The diggers' doubts in their employers decisions were all but gone after that day, not only was the machine functional but it had been carrying a living teenage girl. They hadn't been kept in the loop of course, the military scientists had covered the discovery up immediately. But now they dug with renewed zeal, hoping that they would make another extraordinary find.

Several months after the discovery of the unusual blue LFO, a subterranean scan showed an object not too far down in the dead skub. Using explosive charges, the diggers unearthed it. Imagine the surprise of the diggers when an artifact thousands of years old moved on its own. Maybe they should have used more restraint, but when they tried to subdue this new devilish looking, purple LFO, it resisted; violently.

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Shinji Ikari was thoroughly confused. Not only was his clock 10,000 years too fast but these strange new mechs he had awoken to were attacking him. Of course he was defending himself, and he wasn't having a problem in doing so. It seemed as though these machines weren't really made for combat, as Shinji was routing his would be attackers.

"Please! Stop! Why are you attacking me?" Shinji yelled into his comm. unit. He dodged a lunge by one of the grey mechs, receiving nothing but static in return. As the grey mech passed by him, Shinji brought his raised arms down, slamming the Eva's elbows into the back of the mech. "I don't want to fight you!" Shinji's pleas didn't seem to faze the aggressors as another one grabbed Unit 01from behind around his arms, leaving Shinji open for a direct attack from the other remaining mech. Shinji grunted, and then roared in exertion as he maneuvered Unit 01 to flip over the mech restraining him over the Eva's head. The Eva let loose a guttural cry as Shinji screamed, putting a spell of terror on the attackers. The mech that had previously been behind Shinji was now in front of him, and the other one was in the middle of a thrust with a blade unable to stop now that its comrade was in the way. The last mech stood frozen with its arm still outstretched and blade in its friends' torso, as though in shock over Unit 01's agility. Shinji took advantage of his enemy's inability to move and grabbed its head, ripping it off; Eva Unit 01 again let loose a terrible roar that echoed throughout the cavern. The ruined circuitry crackled and sparked in Unit 01's hand as the last mech collapsed.

Although the fight had only lasted a few minutes, Shinji sat in his cockpit panting as if it lasted hours. Instantly thoughts of regret flooded his mind while seeds of confusion and curiosity were planted in it simultaneously. He never wanted to fight these people, but then again he didn't even know if they were people. He didn't know anything at all. He didn't know where he was, even when he was. He still couldn't believe it wasn't 2015 anymore. He was just thinking about finding out some answers when he noticed movement on one of his monitors. A figure was running along the floor of the cave. He watched as the runner leapt into a cart and activated it. Shinji saw this as an opportunity to find a way out of the cave he was in.

Shinji followed the cart with one eye, taking in his environment with the other. Even though he was a boy, Shinji had no trouble describing the cave as beautiful. The rock formations that weren't destroyed by excavations were intricate and fabulous, both geometrical and symmetrical while creative and artistic at the same time. As he ducked his Eva's head so he could fit through a passage the cart's track shared, Shinji gasped in surprise and awe. The cavern he was in had no artificial sources of light, yet the room was lit; excluding the path on the floor the entire room was covered in luminescent crystals, slightly blue in hue. Shinji was so distracted with his surroundings; his Eva's head collided with a stalactite hanging from the ceiling.

The bump to his head still hurting, Shinji snapped back to full attention and noticed he could see a spot of white light, signifying an exit. He pushed the control sticks forward, putting Unit 01 into a run. Shinji felt a renewed vigor as he ran towards the light, he was going to get out of the cave and find out what was going on.

Shinji exited a little too fast. The sudden shift to a full sun as his primary light source left him almost completely blind. It was as he was shielding his eyes when an alarm suddenly blared in his ear as the collision detection system signaled an impending impact coming from above. Shinji, without looking above him, leaned his Eva backwards and to the side. As if in slow motion, Shinji watched his assailant fly mere inches above his face. The new attacker was pulling out of a dive, slowing dramatically; giving Shinji an opportunity to study him.

It was a navy blue mech, clearly built for war. Not only was the armor visibly thicker and stronger, the attacker had a gun mounted on one shoulder and what looked like a missile launcher on the other. Again, like the grey mechs from before, it was shorter and stockier than an Eva. But the most prominent feature was how the mech was flying. It was standing on a board, about as long as the mech was tall. There was green light coming off the tail of the board, as if it were creating a wake out of thin air. Watching in amazement, Shinji couldn't help but think it looked as if it were snowboarding and surfing at the same time.

The same mech that almost smashed Shinji in Unit 01 made an abrupt 180, with it now heading back towards him. Its shoulder mounted missile launcher opened up and fired 4 sidewinders at Shinji. At the same time Shinji looked up and saw two more identical mechs coming at him from above. He crouched low and sprung forward dodging both the blast from the missiles and the blades of the two other mechs. Although the imminent danger of the initial attack was past, the mech that had fired its missiles still heading towards Shinji drew its blade and swung at him. It connected with Unit 01's head. Dazed, Shinji staggered backwards almost losing his balance. Seconds later, before Shinji could recover, another blue mech flew past him this time using its board as a weapon, letting it nick Unit 01's arm. Shinji grunted, feeling the blow on his own arm. Clutching the piercing pain in his arm, he urged Unit 01 forward but was stopped by another set of missiles, this time connecting with their target.

A cloud of dust and debris flew up, obscuring the mechs view of their enemy. They circled above like vultures, waiting to confirm their target's elimination. But when the dust cleared a hexagonal shield around Unit 01 was briefly visible before disappearing. Shinji mustered all the concentration he could and made the Eva jump as high as it could, reaching the lowest mech. He grabbed onto the board and then the leg of the mech. Shinji ripped his enemy off the board and released the board falling as well. He landed on top of the fallen machine, disabling it permanently.

"One down, two to go," Shinji thought to himself. Immediately after finishing that thought, three more groups of three mechs each flew over a hill, giving him eleven opponents instead of only two. "Oh no!" Shinji knew he was greatly outnumbered and even only against three nearly outmatched. He decided to make a run for it. The Eva was truly fast, but not fast enough to escape from the flying mechs. He shouted into his comm. as he ran across the green hills of the country side, "Please, I don't want to fight, stop!" All he got in return was static. He figured they were angry with him, now that he had destroyed one of their comrades and wouldn't show him mercy, "Please stop!"

With his adrenaline and testosterone pumping due to his fight, Shinji nearly jumped out of his skin when finally an unexpected voice answered back over his comm. "Ikari, is that you? Ikari?" That voice. That soft, quiet voice. He knew it anywhere.

"REI!"

"Hold on Ikari, I am coming." Still running, Shinji looked up to the sky and saw a blue flash erupt from a cloud, impacting several of the pursuing mechs, making them explode. Pulling out of a dive, Shinji saw Unit 00 on a board similar to his attackers. It had been modified; its shoulder pylons had been removed with smaller batteries. Its back was larger; as it appeared jet thrusters had been attached. Said jet thrusters fired just as the all the remaining mechs launched their missiles, boosting Unit 00 out of harms way. As it dodged and weaved, leaning left and right dancing in the sky, several compartments on Unit 00's back opened up, releasing sparkling chaff in a trail behind it, detonating all the missiles homing in on the flying Eva. Shinji observed in awe as Rei dispatched the remaining enemies in what looked like an easy fashion.

"Hold out your arm Ikari, and stay still," Rei said more urgently than Shinji was used to hearing. He did so anyways still curious

"Why?"

All she said was, "More will be on their way." Shinji watched as Rei made a wide circle in the air, so that she was heading his way again. All the while she was dropping her altitude lower and lower.

"Uh Rei, what are you doing?" Shinji received no answer from the girl piloting the Eva that was getting increasingly closer to him at a very high speed. Mere feet away, Shinji could barely not move his own Eva out of the way. "Rei!" Rei flew Unit 00 past Shinji without slowing down and grabbed his arm, letting inertia carry him behind her on her board.

Shinji had been closing his eyes, afraid of the impending collision. When he never felt the pain of one, he opened his eyes and took a sharp breath of surprise; he was flying. Looking around, he saw that they were climbing higher.

"Rei, where are we going?"

"There is a canyon close by. It should provide us with satisfactory cover, which will allow us to escape the area unnoticed. And why are you referring to me as Rei?"

Shinji blushed; to be honest he hadn't noticed. He stammered, thinking of something to say. "I don't know, I think it is because I was so happy to hear your voice. I didn't know if I would ever see you again. I'm sorry, I'll stop and call you Ayanami again."

Rei paused, thinking before replying, "That will be unnecessary Ikari. I do not mind."

"Oh, okay," Shinji said surprised. He thought to what she said earlier about the canyon, "So why are we going to hide in a canyon, why can't we escape using this air board?"

"It is called a ref board Ikari; and because you are riding as well, I can not take full advantage of its speed and maneuverability therefore I can not outrun the KLFs that will be coming after us."

"Oh, okay." Shinji thought he detected a hint of annoyance on Rei's voice and decided to let her pilot in silence. They reached the canyon in ten minutes, but it took another twenty before Rei decided to set them down. After landing the two continued on "foot," for as Rei had put it, "The KLF patrols would have detected us if we had flown any longer." And indeed, five minutes after they had landed, from the safety of an overhanging ledge, the two observed dozens of KLFs or Kraft Light Fighters, as Rei had explained along with a huge airship that seemed to float in midair. To Shinji, it seemed like it should fall straight from the sky, being a giant metallic wing, with no visible means of staying up. It was as the airship was flying by, when Rei became more talkative.

"We will camp here for now, and continue on later in the night."

"Oh okay. Umm Rei?" Shinji said hesitantly.

"Yes Ikari?" Rei answered neutrally as always.

Shinji had so many questions he wanted answered and didn't know where to begin. He decided to ask about the loud, giant flying machine that was flying overhead, "What is that up there," he pointed upwards, "and how is it flying."

Rei looked at Shinji for a second as though the answer should be obvious before answering, "That is a Federation Battleship. It stays airborne using copious amounts of reflection film that takes advantage of trapars." Rei turned around thinking her explanation had been adequate and opened a small compartment on her Eva, not realizing Shinji's blank stare meant his question hadn't been answered.

"Rei, I didn't understand half of what you said, reflection film, transpars?"

"Trapars, Ikari. The term trapars is short for Transparence Light Particles. Trapars are naturally found particles in the atmosphere. I believe that the trapars are responsible for your inability to communicate with any other LFO, or Light Finding Operation, using a radio. Unit 00 had a similar problem at first, but it was corrected. But by using reflection film, one can take advantage of trapars and achieve flight. So the battleship as well as a ref board can fly using it."

"Oh so your board uses it too?"

"That is correct Ikari."

"So how do you know all this? What happened to you, the last thing I remember you were being absorbed by the Angel."

Rei closed her eyes before speaking, "That is correct. I was attempting to stop the Angel and was disabled in the process. The angel consumed my Eva and I don't remember what happened after that. The next thing I do recall is having my entry plug being opened by a team of scientists. It was they that told me of these things."

"When did this happen?" Shinji interrupted, although immediately after he blushed as though he thought what he as being rude.

"This happened three months ago."

"So my Eva's clock isn't malfunctioning, it really is 12145."

"Yes it is, although the people of this planet consider the year they arrived on it the first year on their new calendar."

It took a second for the true gravity of her words to hit Shinji. His mouth hung open as the helpless feeling of being in an unknown and foreign place that he first felt when he woke up sunk to new lows. "So we aren't even on Earth?"

"It would seem so."

"But how is that possible?"

"I do not know Ikari. I would guess that Angel had something to do with it. I can not say how though. It appears that the evacuation of Earth succeeded, since several historians I have talked to claim that these people are decedents of the people of Earth. Perhaps they found a way to retrieve the Eva's, but that would not explain the gap in time and why we were "discovered" beneath the ground."

Shinji didn't say anything; he was too busy processing this new information to say anything else. When she received no more questions from Shinji, Rei continued to sort through the compartment she had opened earlier, pulling out a sleeping pad and a blanket. She looked over at Shinji, who looked like he was in a trance. Rei had no problem with interrupting it though.

"Ikari, it would be wise to get some sleep now, for when night falls we will need to begin to move again."

"Oh, alright." Shinji said in a detached tone, obviously still thinking. Rei continued to stare him down.

"You are welcome to share my blanket Ikari."

This brought Shinji out of his daze immediately. "WHAT!"

"I noticed that you do not have a blanket or a pad to lie on. In order to maximize the chances of our escape, it is imperative that we both get as much rest as possible. You are less likely to receive quality sleep if you do not use a pad or a blanket."

"Oh," Shinji stammered, his immediate fears quashed. He still was uncomfortable in sleeping under the same blanket with Rei, "That's alright, you can have them both."

"I insist Ikari, we should share them. I will lay the pad horizontally so we can both share its benefits and the blanket is large enough to cover us both."

Shinji knew she was right, the upcoming night would be important in their escape and a good sleep would be required. But he still didn't want to be so close to Rei.

"How about a compromise? You can still lay out the pad horizontally and we'll share it, but you keep the blanket, I insist. It isn't even that cold, so I'll be fine."

"Alright, that should be adequate."

Shinji sighed in relief; he definitely had dodged a bullet. He imagined what Toji or Kensuke would say if he told them he had turned down the chance to sleep so close to Rei, but then stopped, feeling a pang of grief remembering that if Rei was telling the truth, then both Kensuke and Toji were long dead. Trying to forget, he focused his mind instead on the day's battle. He recalled how easily Rei had dispatched the KLFs pursuing him. Rei had finished with their sleeping arrangements and had laid down on her back, covered by the blanket. He decided to ask about the battle.

"Rei, that was amazing how you defeated all those KLFs so quickly earlier today."

Shinji was sure he could see a tint of red grace Rei's cheeks. She quietly responded, "Thank you, but I have had several months of training and the KLFs were not expecting me to betray them."

Shinji had lain down by this point, "Still, it was amazing."

He turned over and closed his eyes, and amazingly fell asleep rather quickly.

Rei on the other hand was kept awake by a restless mind. She whispered to herself, "Words of praise…"

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The prison guard overlooking the courtyard surveyed the prisoners in an almost bored fashion. These weren't the dangerous thugs he was used to from his last post. There were mostly aristocratic embezzlers and court-martialed officers occupying this prison. He continued to shift his gaze nonchalantly from prisoner to prisoner, until he reached a certain one. Upon a first glance, the only distinguished feature about him was his long silvery hair. But studying him closer, the guard suddenly felt nervous and couldn't help but shudder. The guard simultaneously wanted to shift his gaze and continue to stare at this man. Finally he broke free, but still curious he took out his handheld database. He narrowed the field to cell block C and started to cycle through the pictures. He continued to do so until he felt that same urge to shudder, he found the man's profile. Dewey Novak, former Lieutenant Colonel in the Federation Air Force, court-martialed after he was found responsible by the Sage Council for the defection of the Special Operations Force that in turn became the Gekko State and the loss of unspecified military hardware. The guard shuddered one more time, looking at Dewey Novak, who now had a visitor in the court yard. Even though it was his duty to watch such visitations closely, the fear and dread he felt when looking at that man was too much and he turned the other way.

Dewey Novak sensed he had a visitor even before he was approached. He continued to read his book however. It wasn't until the young officer saluted and announced, "Lieutenant Colonel Novak Sir! Second Lieutenant Dominic Sorel reporting on events as you requested" that he looked up. He was greeted by a young face, barely out of the officer training academy. Dewey sensed great potential in this man however, that was why he had chosen him to be his liaison in the first place.

"Please, skip the formalities; you know I haven't been in the military for the last three years." Even though he just told him not to, Dominic felt an obligation to continue with "the formalities." "What do you have to report?"

"Sir, as you know the Code Blue LFO had been excavated from the Beta site and a girl had been recovered along with it. She was handled and trained similarly to the original like you requested, although with more reliable overseers this time. The news I bring confirms your predictions, another unique LFO was found."

"Oh really, something tells me not everything went according to plan."

Dominic felt uneasy; he was sure at times that Dewey was psychic because nothing fazed him, even the worst possible news. "That is correct sir. Unlike the Code Blue and the Nirvash Type Zero, this new LFO, deemed the Code Purple, activated by itself." Dominic paused momentarily looking for any reaction from the former Lieutenant Colonel, but receiving nothing but a cold stare, he continued, "It easily dispatched the excavation team and managed to defeat a single KLF. The most disturbing news is that the Code Blue's pilot, while on an exercise at the time, defected and assisted the Code Purple in escaping by destroying the pursuing KLF's. Both the Code Blue and Purple are now missing and we do not know where they are heading."

Dominic knew Dewey Novak wasn't a normal man, a normal man would be furious with the news he had just issued. But still, he was expecting Dewey to at least show some annoyance. But the prisoner remained as stoic as ever. He suddenly spoke, making Dominic jump slightly. "Tell the diggers to continue excavating the sight." Dominic was about to interject, citing the diggers were scared out of their minds, but before he could mutter a single word, Dewey gave an answer to his dilemma. "Pay them double if you have to. There should be one more "interesting" find worth their efforts. This time tell the base's commander to be more careful, and I will want more frequent reports when the new LFO is found. Who knows, I might just be out of prison just in time." Dominic shuddered, he felt as if Dewey knew something he didn't, which was strange he was an officer of military intelligence while the only information Dewey received came from himself, and there were no indications that Dewey was due to receive a pardon."

"Now tell me about the attacks I predicted."

Dominic snapped back to attention, recalling the information he had memorized before this visit. "Sir, as you predicted the Skub Coral have begun to become more unruly. The number of tectonic shifts have risen 37 percent. And there have been several instances where the Skubs are suspected to have been responsible for a KLF squadron's destruction, but there have been no confirmations up to this point."

"I see, give it time. And what about the Gekko and the Type Zero?"

"Although there have been no official sightings by military personnel of the Gekko, there have been some civilian reports of a ship matching it's description heading Northwest. Although it is impossible to predict with 100 percent accuracy, it is my personal opinion their destination is Bellforest."

"Do you have any indication of why they would be heading there?"

"No sir, I am still compiling data on the subject."

"Then the next step is to tell the General that I recommend they send a Battleship in that direction; make it the Izumo, its KLF squadrons are top notch, although I hear its captain these days is a bit of a blowhard."

"Sir, the message is as good as delivered."

"You've done well Dominic, I was right to choose you. Soon I will be free of this prison, and begin the process in freeing this planet from tyranny by reforming the Ageha squad. The first step of that process will be for you to meet with the pilot of the Nirvash Type The End. She plays an integral role in my plans, although she requires some special attention; that is why you're going to be responsible for her. But for now, you will accompany the Izumo in it's pursuit of the Gekko and report back to me on its movements."

"Yes sir!" Dominic saluted and was about to turn when Dewey spoke up again.

"Oh and don't be surprised if the Type Zero displays some unusual behavior, so proceed with caution."

Dominic chose not to reply, and continued walking towards the exit. It was always the same, whenever he finished talking with the former Lieutenant Colonel, he felt physically drained and mentally unnerved. He sighed and decided to suck it up, because despite the feeling he received from him, Dominic could tell that Dewey Novak was destined for great things.

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Shinji awoke, but kept his eyes closed. He had the strangest feeling. He opened them and was greeted by the very close face of Rei gazing into his own. He shuffled backwards and said sleepily, "What are you doing?"

Rei stood up from her crouched position and replied as though nothing was wrong, "I was waiting for you to wake up. I did not know the proper procedure in waking someone up so I waited. It is time we moved on."

"Oh, well next time shake me or something." It was true he preferred Rei's quiet method rather than Asuka's shriek, but a balanced medium was what he truely desired. They had both slept in their clothes, so packing up was a cinch.

Two things popped up in Shinji's brain, one a bit more important than the other. "Rei, how can you still pilot your Eva without an umbilical cable?"

"Along with the board and thrusters, the scientists replaced the batteries with a much more efficient system, although I believe the S2 engine in Unit 01 is still more proficient."

"Okay, so where are we going?"

Rei answered after they both got in their entry plugs, "We are headed to a town called Bellforest."

"What's in Bellforest?"

"The mechanic that developed and built the ref board for Unit 00 is in Bellforest. I am going to ask him to do the same for Unit 01."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"In order to permanently evade capture by the military, we will need both of the Evas to be capable of flight."

"I'm going to fly Unit 01? But I have no idea how to use one of those boards."

"That is why I will train you Ikari."

"Train me, how?"

"I have my own personal ref board, it was beneficial when learning to fly Unit 00, so I will teach you how to ref, which will in turn will allow you to fly Unit 01 when the time comes."

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The excavators were back in the cavern a week later, noticeably surrounded by half a dozen KLFs; it was the only way the diggers agreed to go back to work. The foreman was about to call it a day and send everyone home, when the explosive charge they had been planting went off. After the dust cleared, the foreman's gut clenched into a knot. Before him, newly uncovered, was a bright red hand sticking out of the ground…

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A/N: So that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed. The first two real characters from Eureka Seven are introduced, plan on more in the next one. Lastly, I want to apologize to anyone who read the first chapter of this story and waited so long for an update, thanks for being patient.


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